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Saudi Arabia

Business news and financial news from Saudi Arabia, covering the biggest Saudi companies including Saudi Aramco, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), Sabic, Riyadh Air, Saudia and Saudi National Bank

Visitors look at the Tesla Model Y during the opening of Tesla's first Saudi showroom, in Riyadh

Tesla trumpets Saudi launch but China is waiting

Tesla’s well-publicised launch event in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, last week attracted a large and boisterous crowd. But the competition is stiff, especially from the Chinese, now the world’s largest maker of EVs, and the charging infrastructure for electric-powered vehicles in the world’s second-largest oil producer is still lacking. Saudi Arabia wants 30 percent of […]

The Saudi aviation authority has set a deadline of May 21 for bids from charter airline operators

Saudi Arabia invites bids for charter airline

Saudi Arabia’s aviation regulator is inviting bids to set up a national charter airline. The General Authority of Civil Aviation opened the bid process on April 13 and has set a submission deadline of May 21, it said in a statement. All the bids will be opened on May 22. In February the regulator announced […]

The number of containers exported from Jeddah port showed a year-on-year increase of 32 percent in March

Outbound containers drive bumper March for Saudi ports

A significant increase in the number of exported containers from Saudi Arabia helped drive a spike in volumes for ports across the country, according to the Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani).  Exported containers rose 32 percent in March compared with the previous year. 280,341 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs), a common industry measurement, were exported compared to […]

Visitors to the Cityscape Global construction fair in Saudi Arabia. Supplier competition could bring down construction costs in the medium term, despite current inflationary pressures

Global trade war prompts Gulf construction reassessment

The global trade tensions triggered by Donald Trump’s tariff hikes is sending shockwaves through the Gulf’s construction sector, leading Saudi Arabia and the UAE to rethink sourcing materials and supply chain networks. The risk of costs accelerating has risen, but over the longer term prices could temper, providing a cost opportunity for the GCC, industry […]

The 2025 Esports World Cup in Riyadh includes 24 games, adding chess and shooting games such as Crossfire and Valorant

Riyadh offers record prize pool at Esports World Cup

Riyadh will host the Esports World Cup this summer, offering a record prize pool of more than $70 million as the kingdom aims to become a global gaming centre. The tournament, which will run from July 7 through August 24, includes 24 games this season, adding chess and shooting games such as Crossfire, Fatal Fury: […]

People, Person, Adult

BlackRock-backed fund favours Saudi equities

A South African fund manager, backed by US-based BlackRock, has favoured the Saudi and Indian stock markets among emerging nations, despite new US tariffs, according to a news report. Cogence Pty plans to invest in select emerging markets over the next three to five years, Bloomberg reported, quoting Kerri-Ann Sattary, an executive and investment specialist. Saudi […]

Sinopec, China National Offshore Oil Corp and private refiner Shenghong Petrochemical will all be lifting more Saudi crude in May

Saudi oil exports to China will rise in May after price fall

Saudi Arabia’s crude oil supply to China will surge in May from the prior month as a sharp price cut by the kingdom attracted more demand, sources said on Friday. State oil company Saudi Aramco will ship about 48 million barrels to China in May, a tally of allocations to Chinese refiners showed, up from April’s 35.5 […]

Saudi football soccer

Former Saudi owner of English soccer club returns to pitch

The former Saudi royal owner of the English Championship side Sheffield United, Prince Abdullah bin Mosaad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, is returning to the football market with a sports investment fund worth as much as SAR1 billion ($266 million). Prince Abdullah told the Sports Investment Forum in Riyadh this week that his group intends to […]

The CMA says Spacs would enable investments in unlisted companies that were previously difficult to access directly, but they provide less information to investors

Special purpose companies proposed to boost Saudi IPOs

Consultations on introducing special purpose acquisition companies to the Saudi stock exchange’s junior market in an effort to encourage initial public offerings and listings have been announced by Saudi Arabia’s Capital Markets Authority regulator. A special purpose acquisition company, or Spac, is formed to raise money through an IPO, with the funds then used to […]

Sanabil SILQ

Sanabil leads $110m funding for Saudi-Bangladesh startup

Sanabil Investments, a venture capital arm of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, has made its first investment in South Asia. The PIF unit and the US venture capital fund Valar Ventures, which was co-founded by Peter Thiel, the co-founder of Paypal, are jointly leading the $110 million funding round for SILQ Group, a new e-commerce platform, […]

Saudi minister of industry and mineral resources Bandar Al-Khorayef at the inauguration of Lucid Motor's first EV manufacturing plant in Saudi Arabia

PIF-owned Lucid raises new funds to repay debt

US electric vehicle maker Lucid Motors, majority-owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), has raised $1.1 billion in new funding to repay existing debt. The EV maker has received $1.1 billion through convertible senior notes, debt which can be converted into shares, due in 2030, according to a company statement.  Lucid will use $936 […]

The discoveries will strengthen Saudi Arabia's ability to meet both domestic and global energy demand for decades, said energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman

Saudi Aramco discovers 14 new oil and gas fields

Saudi Aramco, the state-controlled oil major, has discovered 14 oil and natural gas fields and reservoirs in the Eastern Region and the Empty Quarter, according to Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, the energy minister. The discoveries include six fields and two reservoirs of oil, as well as two fields and four reservoirs of natural gas, state-run SPA news […]

Saudi Aramco has signed an agreement with Sinopec and Yasref for petrochemical expansion

Aramco and Sinopec move ahead with petrochemical expansion

Saudi Aramco says it has signed an agreement to move forward with expanding a petrochemical complex on the west coast of Saudi Arabia. The oil major, which trades on the Saudi stock exchange, has signed a venture framework agreement with China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) and Yanbu Aramco Sinopec Refining Company (Yasref) to carry out engineering […]

Saudi Aramco will purchase 1.2 mtpa of LNG  from NextDecade's Rio Grande facility in Texas

Aramco finalises 20-year LNG supply from the US  

Saudi Aramco has signed a 20-year liquefied natural gas (LNG) purchase agreement with Houston-headquartered producer NextDecade. The Saudi energy major will purchase 1.2 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of LNG on a free-on-board basis from NextDecade’s Rio Grande facility at the Port of Brownsville, Texas, the US company said in a statement. The Rio Grande facility […]

A construction site in Riyadh. Saudi Arabia is preparing to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games, Expo 2030 and the 2034 World Cup

Oil price raises $1 trillion question for Saudi Arabia

Questions are being raised about the long-term future of Saudi Arabia’s trillion-dollar infrastructure strategy as oil prices hit a four-year low and global stock markets tumble, according to economists. For the world’s second-largest oil producer, much depends on the trajectory of crude prices. The price of Brent crude has fallen by about 13 percent to […]

A Lynas worker walks past sacks of rare earth concentrate. Australia's Lynas is one of Ma'aden's partners under consideration

Ma’aden seeks foreign partner for rare earth processing

Saudi Arabia’s flagship mining company Ma’aden is considering choosing at least one of four foreign companies to form a rare earths processing partnership, three sources with knowledge of the matter said, as the kingdom bids to become a global critical minerals hub. Ma’aden is weighing a partnership with US-based MP Materials, China’s Shenghe Resources, Australia’s Lynas […]

AviLease will provide Turkish Airlines with a total of eight planes

PIF-backed AviLease agrees Turkish Airlines rentals

Saudi Arabia’s Aircraft Leasing Company (AviLease) has signed long-term leases with state-owned Turkish Airlines for Airbus A320neo aircraft.  Two of the aircraft have already been delivered, with the remaining six scheduled for delivery throughout 2025, the airline said in a statement. Riyadh-based AviLease’s CEO Edward O’Byrne, said these aircraft will support Turkish Airlines’ growth plans and […]

PIF subsidiary Salic increased its stake in Brazilian beef exporter Miverva to 33.83 percent from 25.5 percent in 2020

PIF unit backs Brazilian beef exporter’s capital top-up

Salic International Investment Company, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, and Brazil’s VDQ Holdings have committed to a rights issue by Minerva, a beef exporter seeking to raise new capital. As part of the deal, the two companies, which own stakes in Minerva, have guaranteed a minimum 1 billion reais ($169 million) to […]